“Paradise Lost” and Its New Ending Lead Roster of Special Events at 2011 NYFF

Posted by Eugene Hernandez on 8.24.2011

Big news from the New York Film Festival today with just over five weeks to go until opening night. Twenty-five special programs and screenings round out the lineup for the 2011 Festival.

A selection of ten new documentaries highlight the list of Special Events set for the 49th NYFF, running September 30 – October 16 at Lincoln Center. Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, the anticipated new film about the West Memphis Three will be unveiled at the festival. The U.S. premiere of the HBO documentary will include the first screening of the film with its new ending, including footage shot last week by Berlinger (pictured, left) and Sinofsky (pictured, right) in Arkansas on the day Jason Baldwin (pictured, center), Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelly were released from prison. Other documentaries on tap include Frederick Wiseman’s Crazy Horse, about the legendary Parisian erotic cabaret, Jeffrey Schwarz’ Vito, about the acclaimed queer cinema activist, and Nelson Pereira dos Santos’ Music According to Tom Jobim about the legendary Brazilian musician.

Another key highlight is The 99 – Unbound, the first animated feature film based on the DC Comics series of Islamic comic heroes by Naif A. Al-Mutawa and directed by Dave Osbourne. After the screening, Dr. Al-Mutawa will discuss the ideas behind the project and some of his plans for introducing The 99 to America.

Restored film screenings, showing in the Festival’s Masterworks section, will include a new restoration of the original 1925 silent version of Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush. The screening will feature a new score restoration conducted by Timothy Brock, his 9th film commissioned by the Chaplin Estate, as well as a live orchestral accompaniment featuring members of the New York Philharmonic. Sara Driver’s You Are Not I, a film that was shot by Jim Jarmusch, was long considered destroyed by a warehouse fire. It has been rediscovered and restored for this special event. Also on tap is Hugo Santiago’s Invasión and screenings of Karl Heinz Martin's From Morning Till Midnight with The Alloy Orchestra in person, as well as a rare showing of George Meliés' A Trip To The Moon, recently reconstructed and featuring a new original soundtrack by Air.

Numerous other special one-time only events are on tap for this year’s New York Film Festival. Among them are three episodes from Oliver Stone’s new Showtime series The Untold History of the United States (with a panel discussion), the special three part Dreileben with films directed by Christian Petzold, Dominik Graf and Christoph Hochhäusle, a salute to Roger Corman, a presentation about Rin Tin Tin with author Susan Orlean, and a panel discussion about famed film critic Pauline Kael. Also set is a tribute to the 20th Anniversary of Sony Pictures Classics.

Anniversary screenings on tap include a ten year celebration of Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums (with members of the cast in attendance), a tenth birthday celebration for Hayao Miyazaki’sSpirited Away and a screening of The Exterminating Angel, Luis Buñuel’s film that opened the first New York Film Festival in 1962. The screening will kick-off a year-long retrospective of highlights from the past 49 editions of the NYFF leading up to the 50th in the fall of 2012.

The 2011 Views From the Avant Garde lineup, as well as a number of free forums at the 2011 New York Film Festival will be announced soon by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Oliver Stone’s The Untold History of the United States. Screening of the first 3 chapters of TV series with panel discussion featuring Oliver Stone, co-writer Peter Kuznick, historian Douglas Brinkley (Rice University) and journalist Jonathan Schell (The Nation).

"Pauline Kael: A Life in the Dark" with Fingers, directed by James Toback. Panel discussion with David Edelstein (Film Critic, New York magazine), Brian Kellow, Geoffrey O’Brien (Editor in Chief, Library of America), James Toback (film director), Camille Paglia (University Professor of Humanities and Media Studies, University of the Arts)

Inside Access to NYFF

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